Japan Opens Longest Undersea Tunnel
Passengers packed into trains and sped below ground and sea to the island of Hokkaido on Sunday as the world’s longest undersea tunnel opened to rail service.
Some riders had waited in line more than a week to ensure a seat on the first train, which carried them 33.4 miles from Aomori at the tip of Japan’s largest island, Honshu, to Hakodate in Hokkaido, the country’s northernmost main island. The undersea portion of the Seikan Tunnel runs 14.4 miles.
The cost of the Seikan Tunnel, which took 24 years to build, has fueled debate in Japan in an era of declining rail service. Overall construction and personnel outlays cost taxpayers about $8.5 billion at current exchange rates.
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